The main goal of this survey is to situate the construction and transformation of the prevention concept in the speech of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). For this, a historical perspective will be adopted, analyzing the last 50 years of the last century (1950-2000) through the archaeological methodology of Michael Foucault. The survey of PAHO scientific production is based on the periodical document analysis: Boletin de la Oficina Sanitária Panamericana, Educación Médica y Salud e Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública.